First Stop
|season = 4 |number = 14 |overall = 111 |production = 4-14 / 111 |imdb = tt0609236 |airdate = January, 17, 1955 |writer = Bob Carroll Jr. Madelyn Pugh Jess Oppenheimer |director = William Asher |previous = "California, He Were Come!" |next = "Tennessee Bound" |image = |imagewidth = 300px}} http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/ConfusingMap.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/CarSinging.jpg First Stop was the 111th overall episode of I Love Lucy, also the 14th episode in Season four of the series. The episode, was directed by William Asher, originally aired on CBS-TV on January, 17, 1955. Synopsis After a long day of non-stop driving, the Ricardos and the Mertzes pull into a run-down cafe somewhere near Cincinnati that has nothing but frozen cheese sandwiches. The bunk beds in their ugly cabin, with spongy sagging mattresses, scoot back and forth across the floor every time a noisy train passes nearby. Plot summary Ricky's been driving for hours, refusing to stop somewhere to eat because of his intense determination to get good mileage. Finally, it gets so late that even Ricky is starving. After being gypped out of a dinner consisting of Aunt Sally's legendary pecan pralines, Ricky says he'll stop at the next available restaurant. The gang has the unfortunate luck of having the next place be George Skinner's cabin, where the only thing to eat is old cheese sandwiches. Everybody leaves, and Lucy takes over driving for tired Ricky. When she sees a sign that says "good accommodations, wonderful food, 5 miles," she follows the sign. It ends up being a trick sign George Skinner put up that leads cars in a circle right back to his place. Too tired to drive all the way to Cincinatti for a hotel, the foursome decides to rent George Skinner's lone cabin. What a dump it ends up being. There is a double bed with a mattress so lumpy that you sink in the middle, a set of bunk beds that doesn't even come with a ladder for the top bunk, and a tiny bathroom. What's worse is that the cabin is right near railroad tracks, and every time a train goes by, the whole cabin shakes and moves the double bed across the floor. The Ricardos and Mertzes refuse to pay for these horrid conditions. So, they decide to sneak out in the middle of the night. What they don't know is that George Skinner hooked up a burglar alarm to the car door, and when they open the door, the alarm sounds. Skinner announces that everybody tries to sneak away, so he started setting up alarms to prevent guests from leaving. The gang thinks they can still leave by hopping in the car and driving off fast, but Ricky discovers that the car's steering wheel is missing. Skinner offers them their steering wheel for the price of the cabin. Starring *Lucille Ball ... as Lucy Ricardo *Desi Arnaz ... as Ricky Ricardo *Vivian Vance ... as Ethel Mertz *William Frawley ... as Fred Mertz Guest starring *Olin Howland ... as George Skinner (as Olin Howlin) Category:Season 4 Episodes Category:Episodes